In Haiti, gay 17-year-old Jeffrey Val was attacked and stabbed by his mother at the family home in the town of Quartier-Morin after he refused to hand over his cell phone during an argument about his sexual orientation, per Erasing 76 Crimes. Activist Johnny Clergé, of the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Arc-en-ciel d’Haïti, denied rumors that the teen had died, although a knife wound caused severe bleeding; the victim’s mother was arrested by the Protected Areas Security Brigade (BSAP) and remains in detention. While activists applaud action being taken against the mother, the reaction on social media is different, particularly on Facebook, where calls to support the attacker are increasing.
Also regarding Haiti, The Hotel Oloffson—a Port-au-Prince landmark known as a refuge for many, including the LGBTQ+ community (per Erasing 76 Crimes)—has been reduced to ashes because of gang violence, NPR noted. Built in the late 1800s, the hotel was once a presidential residence and, later, a U.S. Marine Corps hospital. As a hotel, it became a gathering place for cultural royalty, from Mick Jagger and Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Haitian painters and poets. The fire that destroyed the hotel broke out amid clashes between gangs and Haitian authorities in the Carrefour-Feuilles neighborhood. Nearly 90% of Port-au-Prince is under gang control, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians have been displaced by the violence.
Two men were arrested in Bangladesh on charges of murdering electrician Parvez Hasan, an openly gay man, after luring him to a rooftop, Erasing 76 Crimes reported. Police said Hasan’s murder was motivated by jealousy related to a same-sex relationship; however, Bangladeshi LGBTQ+-rights activists believe the circumstances point more strongly toward it being a hate crime. The suspects are Al-Arafah Islami Bank treasurer Mehedi Hasan Iman and US-Bangla Medical College associate professor Dr. Arman Hossain.
On July 17, the Russian State Duma passed a new law (Article 13.53) that makes it illegal to deliberately search for or access online content listed in the official Federal List of Extremist Materials—including Pussy Riot audiovisuals, a press release stated. According to the release, “Pussy Riot’s inclusion in this law demonstrates how artistic and political protest is equated with extremism.” The law takes effect on Sept. 1, imposing fines up to 5,000 Russian rubles (about $64 U.S.) for individuals who intentionally search for or open extremist materials online, even without reposting or sharing. Included in Entry #1944 of the Federal List by the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow (added in 2012, and upheld in 2013) are the Pussy Riot works “Free the Cobblestones,” “Kropotkin Vodka,” “Death to Prison, Freedom to Protest” and “Putin Has Pissed Himself.”
Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power (NAPP) approved a law allowing transgender people to self-declare their gender on official documents without first undergoing surgery, per Them. The law will allow citizens to change their gender marker on identification cards by request, and will no longer require applicants to provide a court order or proof of bottom surgery. Access to surgery has reportedly been limited in Cuba for years despite theoretically being guaranteed by the government since 2008.
Andry Jose Hernández Romero—the gay makeup artist who sought asylum in the United States before the Trump administration relocated him to an El Salvador megaprison—has been sent back to his home country of Venezuela, per The Bay Area Reporter. Earlier this year, a U.S. immigration judge dismissed Hernández Romero’s asylum claim after he was sent by the States earlier this year to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT)—a megaprison known for reported human-rights abuses. Lindsay Toczylowski, one of Hernández Romero’s attorneys, stated, “We are incredibly relieved that it appears most of them have been freed from the torture prison the U.S. government sent them to, and potentially may be reunited with family soon. But as an American, and as a lawyer who believes deeply in the rule of law and due process, my heart remains heavy.”
Senegal’s parliament of Senegal is again debating whether to stiffen penalties for same-sex activity, per Erasing 76 Crimes. Currently, under Paragraph 3 of Article 319 of Law No. 65-60 of July 21, 1965, anyone who commits an “unnatural act with an individual of the same sex” could be imprisoned for one to five years and be subjected to a fine of between 100,000 and 1,500,000 CFA francs (about $178-$2,670 U.S.). The Islamist collective And Samm Djikko Yi (“Together to Protect Values,” in the local Wolof language) wants tougher penalties plus a provision to prohibit “promotion of homosexuality,” per SeneNews.
Like it has in the U.S., disagreement over same-sex marriage and congregational autonomy are also driving wedges between Baptists in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, per Baptist News Global. In Australia, cracks appeared in 2022 when the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Baptist Association voted to require churches and ministers to affirm an exclusively heterosexual view of marriage. In response, a group of clergy and congregations formed Open Baptists—for LGBTQ+-inclusive churches and for those dedicated to the Baptist principles of church autonomy and freedom of conscience. The disruptions in Canada have been different than those in the U.S., though, according to Dave Ogilvie, gathering chair and pastor of Burlington Baptist Church in Ontario: “To my knowledge, no congregations have been disfellowshipped here. Some of the more fundamentalist congregations who were pushing for our disfellowship grew tired of waiting and left the larger Baptist fold to find fellowship among kindred spirits elsewhere.”
The IGLTA Foundation—the philanthropic arm of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA)—and the European LGBTQ+ Travel Alliance (ELTA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to expand support for LGBTQ+ tourism, with a strong focus on eastern Europe, a press release noted. ELTA, which organizes the annual European General States of LGBTQ+ Tourism, is now recognized as an official regional partner of the IGLTA Foundation. Together, both organizations will launch initiatives aimed at increasing visibility, access to data, and knowledge-sharing within the travel sector. An upcoming webinar focused on LGBTQ+ safety in eastern Europe will be among the first joint efforts under the agreement. IGLTA Foundation Partnership Engagement Director TJ Chernick said, “Research and education are at the heart of the IGLTA Foundation’s mission, and this agreement is part of our ongoing work to advance inclusion across Europe, especially in places where equality remains uncertain.”
Queerty recently spotlighted the Belgian series Oh, Otto!—which is currently unavailable to stream in the United States. From emerging filmmaker Stijn van Kerkhoven, the Dutch-language series is the story of the 26-year-old titular character (played by Jonathan Michiels), who lives in his deceased grandmother’s apartment in Brussels. After he’s dumped by partner Boris (Gijs De Corte), Otto eventually joins dating apps for the first time, creating an online alter ego. He then explores the city’s queer nightlife scene—one with plenty of new fun to explore in the forms of drag, leather, and anonymous dark room hookups. Among the ensemble are hunky Dutch actor Tarikh Janssen and former EuroVision contestant Mustii (best known stateside as a judge on Drag Race Belgique), who performs in drag in the series.
Bisexual fashion designer Rick Owens has launched an OnlyFans account—for a good cause, according to Queerty. Proceeds from the account—devoted to his feet, which are tattooed with the words “so” and “c*nt” across them—will go toward The Allanah Foundation, a nonprofit started by Cuban-born U.S. trans pioneer Allanah Starr that offers scholarships, mentorship programs and resources for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers. “I thought it was an interesting way of addressing aging,” Owens recently told WWD about starting the site, which charges $5/month. “It is a response to the prissy moralism and judgment that I see in the world.” Owens also has “Temple of Love,” a new retrospective at Paris’ Palais Galliera that opened directly after his SS26 runway show of the same name, per Pause.
Malta Pride will take place Sept. 5-14 in Valletta, its website noted. Events will include open-air concerts, beach parties, art exhibitions and human-rights forums—all leading up to the Pride March on Sept. 13 through the heart of Valletta. Malta and the neighboring islands of Gozo and Comino offer artistic, cultural and natural attractions, open-air activities, nightlife, fine food and wine.
Genre filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay returned to the Fantasia International Film Festival with the Canadian premiere of her sixth feature, The Serpent’s Skin, per a press release. Produced by Dark Star Pictures, which will also distribute the film next year, The Serpent’s Skin follows Anna (played by Alexandra McVicker) after she escapes from her small, transphobic town, and the romantic relationship she develops with another young woman—goth tattoo artist Gen (Avalon Fast); after unwittingly unleashing a demon that begins feeding on their friends, the pair need to face their insecurities in order to defeat evil.
Sam Wachman’s debut novel, The Sunflower Boys, will be out Aug. 12, per a press release. The book follows a young boy wrestling with his sexuality as war breaks out in modern Ukraine. A writer from Cambridge with Ukrainian roots, Wachman grew up exposed only to the bits and pieces of his great-grandparents’ Ukrainian Jewish culture that survived four generations of North America. However, a summer spent in Ukraine in 2019 left him enamored with the country.
Belgian tennis player Greet Minnen tied the knot with partner Marie Diels, per Outsports. Minnen and Diels, who have been together a couple of years, announced their engagement a year ago. “Can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you
we’re getting married!” Minnen wrote last year on Instagram. Minnen and former WTA pro Alison Van Uytvanck were previously in a relationship, announcing their partnership in 2018.
Non-binary Australian DJ G Flip has announced a world tour, per a press release. Titled The Dream Ride Tour, dates kick off in the States at The Van Buren in Phoenix on Sept. 9, continuing through major U.S. and Canadian markets including New York (Music Hall of Williamsburg), Philadelphia (Union Transfer), Toronto (History), Boston (Roadrunner), Chicago (Thalia Hall), Los Angeles (Fonda Theatre) and more before heading to the UK and Australia, wrapping up at Perth’s Fremantle Arts Center. G Flip will appear at Montreal Pride later this summer.
A Taylor Swift documentary series is officially coming to the British public broadcast television Channel 4, per Deadline. The series (working title: Taylor) will dig deep across the musician’s two-decade career—when she went from being a pop/country star to becoming a cultural icon. The Channel 4 doc follows her Eras tour and, before that, a Netflix special titled Miss Americana.
France President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse Brigitte have filed a lawsuit against U.S. conservative figure Candace Owens, Deadline noted. Owens’ “outlandish, defamatory and far-fetched fictions” that Brigitte was born a man are totally false, the defamation lawsuit asserts. “The clicks kept coming, so Owens kept going, seizing every opportunity to promote her salacious claims,” the suit adds. Owen’s rep responded, “Candace Owens is not shutting up. This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist.”
Brazil’s gay nightlife, especially in Rio, hasn’t gone extinct despite dating apps, but competing with new trends: sex parties, The Washington Blade noted. In recent years, they have become more and more frequent in the city, and their main focus is group sex. MachoMan, one of Rio’s most famous sex parties, brings together a male audience of around 130 (and up to 220) participants at each edition; some of MachoMan’s events offer an open bar, changing rooms, showers, a steam room, and even places for BDSM and other fetishes.
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